Was minding my own business
by petitelucy
Summary: First short story of a season inspired personal collection. Rey and Ben are neighbors and hate each other but then while planing on how to annoy each other they develop completely different feelings they have no idea how to deal with.
1. Chapter 1

I'm not a winter kind of girl, all those layers of clothes that keep me from moving in a proper way, not to mention frostbites, chapped lips and snow. I'm not a kid anymore so not enjoying the snow like I used to do it back then.

That's why I feel like I'm reborn with the start of spring, all that green, those flowers, the birds, we all start to live again.

And then I step into those summer days, meaning that I step into the small pool I have in my backyard and let the sun have its way with my skin, with my body inside and out. Gather a few of my friends and enjoy the unbearable weather with a drop of lemonade and a ton of sunscreen.

My name is Rey Star, 20 something year old, I lost track once I past my 20 line and I'm just fine with it. My job, well that's an interesting story to tell… I write under an alias, nobody knows about it, not even my friends. I'm not ashamed of what I am doing, far from it, but I like it better like this. It's my thing, I'll share it with them when I'll feel like it. They think I am editing other people's stories, thus working from home most of the time. Which is somewhat close to the truth.

So I spend most of my days on my porch, writing, on paper, on my laptop, whatever comes in handy when the muse decides to make an appearance.

I'm in my kitchen, pouring some iced coffee, because I pulled a one nighter and I don't see myself being able to write anything while falling asleep in the middle of the day. I'm satisfied with the amount of magic elixir I have in my cup when I hear the sound of a lawn mower outside. I sneak a peek between my curtains and almost drop my cup when I see my new neighbor shirtless and cutting his grass.

First of all, he moved into our neighborhood pretty recent, we didn't get a chance to introduce ourselves so far. Secondly, he's God's gift to women. At least from my point of view. Tall, very tall, broad shoulders, sinful lips that can inspire me to write pages and pages about what he could do with them, big hands, judging by their side, my ass cheeks would perfectly fit in them and those black eyes that cut right through your soul.

And now I know how he looks without his shirt on. Enough of my dirty thoughts, my new book will not write by itself so it's time to work.

I open my back door and make myself comfortable on the pillow I put earlier on the steps leading to my garden. By pure coincidence, I have a direct view of him in all his semi-naked glory.

You know what? I have to write a romance novel anyway and he can really be my inspiration. He'll never find out, I will not use his name so I think I'll be safe.

The coffee is so cold in my hands that I can sense it cooling me down, sort of. Ben, that's my neighbor's name, could use one. But that would be awkward, to offer him one. I'm not one of those desperate women to through myself at him and beg him to take me all. My mind immediately pictures a moment when I might do said begging, but it would involve him doing more of what I would like, but not enough.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand, Ben out in the open, flexing his muscles like he's preparing to conquer… what exactly, I wouldn't know, but I'd love to find out. The way he's holding the handles of the lawn mower, I can imagine him holding my legs like that when they're wrapped around him. There's something about man's hands, I'm not talking about those soft ones, flawless with no signs on them. I'm thinking about those that are slightly calloused, maybe there was some hard work involved, even going to the gym and heavy lifting can do that. Long fingers that promise pleasure and long hours of exploring.

He has his back to me now and I notice he's tanned a bit, not much, but enough to see from afar the drops of sweat making their way down his back, getting lost into his pants. Each ripple of his muscles makes my thighs clench. I haven't met a man so far to have this reaction on me, and we haven't even talked yet. His back is where I'd put my hand and trace it with my fingers in the middle of the night, when I wouldn't know if he's asleep or he can sense every move of my nails drawing maps of uncharted territories.

Abruptly, like he can read my not so pure thoughts, he stops his lawn mower and turns to me, looking directly at my body spread on my stairs. There's no mistake about it, I'm his focus point now. He gestures if he can enter my garden and I nod, still hazy from my dreams. God, I hope my mouth is not open and I don't look like a foolish fan seeing her idol for the first time.

He slowly approaches me, like he can scare me if he makes sudden moves. He tames his wild raven hair with one hand when he's in front of me, at the bottom of the stairs. Thanks Ben, now I want to do that to your hair.

He's the one talking first.

"Hey."

"Hey."

Where the hell does he have that voice? And can he call me at night to wish me sweet dreams? It's like pouring honey in your tea and looking how it slides in the hot liquid.

"I'm Ben."

"I'm Rey."

I'm mentally slapping myself for not being able to get more words out of my mouth. He's body is so close to me that it prevents my mind to work properly.

"I've moved next door a few weeks ago. I've been meaning to drop by and introduce myself but didn't get a chance so far."

"That's nice of you. And it's ok, I can understand that it's not easy to get settled in a new place. We are a close community here but we welcome new neighbors with open arms."

And then I realize that my feet are open, the iced coffee tucked in my hands between them. I close the gap and Ben follows the movement with stunned interest. Great, now I'm flustered and above all making this man think that we have other ways to make him feel welcomed and I'd be willing to assist him.

"Would you like some iced coffee? You look like you're hot."

What the fuck, Rey? Stupid brain.

"I mean because it's hot outside."

Yeah, that's better.

"Sure. That would be great."

"Want to come in?"

I must be going crazy inviting him in.

He's looking at me with amused eyes. Or maybe he's just a serial killer satisfied that he found his new victim.

"Has your mother never teached you not to talk with strangers and more?"

Damn! That's a good point, but I'm a big girl now.

"Oh, you can tell me something about you while I get the coffee ready and we'll consider that you're no longer a stranger."

"That goes both ways. How do I know you're not going to kidnap me and sell me on the black market?"

I laugh, hard. Stupid or not, I decide I like this man. He can kill me later. Because I want to get to know him better first.

"Come on, let's get in."

I motion for him to take a sit on one of the bar stools while I prepare the coffee. He chooses to lean on a nearby cabinet and watches me intensely as I work my magic.

There's a shirtless man in my kitchen. This can be wrong on so many levels but I want to take the best out of it, more like remember the semi naked part.

We're both in a darker corner of my kitchen, so he's more like a shadow but I can still trace signs of sweat on his abs as they glisten catching the reflection of the glass I'm holding.

I need the coffee spices and damn it, they are right behind him, because well, fate… I extend my hand to get them, but it's impossible to avoid touching his left shoulder on my way. When my skin rests for just a second on his, it's like something new bursts through my veins and all I want to do is touch him more and see what can happen next.

I can't act like I'm a starved creeper woman so I continue my task to retrieve the jar of spices, not sparing him any look. I'm embarrassed of my behavior. The man barely knows me and he's more than a piece of meat.

While I was hoping he missed my earlier reaction, unfortunately for me, he didn't. He lets me get the jar, then slowly takes it out of my hand and puts it on the counter-top. He takes a deep breath, drawing in all the air between me and him and then puts his hands on my waist to keep me in place. Does he think I'll run? From this? My body can only follow his instructions now.

In a few seconds and smooth coordination from his side,coordination that I'm not even able to process, I have my hands on the counter-top, facing the cabinet, my back molded into his front. I grab the edge of the counter-top because I don't think my feet will last too much.

His hands are back on my waist, his lips on my neck and then near my ear.

"Did you like watching me mow my grass?"

I can't form words, so I nod.

"Do you know it's rude to stare at people?"

One of his hands moves to my abs and pulls me closer into his body. I can feel hardness everywhere. Oh my…

"You should be more careful, Rey. Inviting a stranger into your house and letting him touch you like this can be very dangerous."

Don't I know it?

"I can undress you now and have my way with you. Would you like that?"

Does he need to ask?

"Your body is telling me that you want more."

I exhale a moan and close my eyes, wishing that I don't melt on my kitchen floor.

"Too bad for you, I like my women to know me better before I take them to bed."

And then he's gone, my back a cold reminder that he's no longer there. I turn to find him a foot away from me, waiting for my reaction.

"I don't need you to teach me lessons of good behavior, Ben. Or is this a game I was not aware we're playing?"

"That's chief Solo to you."

"What?"

"I'm a policeman, particularly specialized in women victims of assaults, them never seeing it coming."

"Get out."

"It will be my pleasure. And you're welcome."

"For what? Humiliating me in my house? Thanks for not doing it in public. Now get out."

"Mmm, for making you aware next time you talk to a stranger."

I grab the knife closest to me and raise it in front of him. He has the nerve to look so smug.

"Oh you want to go to jail now?"

"You're in my house, I can tell them it was self defense."

"My officers know I never harm women. But you might be charged for assaulting a police officer. That's not going to look good on the long run, it's kind of frowned upon."

"Your officers?"

"Yes. I'm the new chief of the police station of your perfect little town."

"That doesn't scare me."

"That wasn't the intent. Just pointing out that the odds are not in your favor. And make no mistake, I never hurt women. Have a good day, miss Star."

Oh he knows my full name. I bet he has a file with all my details, lying around on his desk in his pompous office. And I thought I was the creep.

Once he is gone, I take a few moments to piece together my rambling thoughts and cool down my body from the Ben intrusion. He might be rude, full of himself, but even I can admit that he has a way to get all your attention with the right words and touches.

He had to be one of the most important people around here. Obviously, I would get myself in this kind of trouble. I'm never satisfied until I'm knee deep in some amazingly complicated situation. I do love the drama in all its forms.

My friend Alicia chooses this exact moment to enter my kitchen like she owns the place. Well, I do leave my front door open, it's a safe town to live in. Now with the new chief, more so.

"What the hell, Rey? What's with the knife?"

I forgot I had that in my hand.

"Oh, nothing. Was about to cut some bread."

"Yeah, sure. So where's the bread, huh?"

"Where it always is, duh. I was on my way to take it out."

"What's wrong?"

She's like staring right down my soul with a magnifying glass. But for now I put behind me the Ben incident, enough is enough. Too much energy spent on him.

"I was going through some work tasks and stopped doing the 'search the bread' thing."

"Sounds like something you'd do. With you and your work. Always in the back of your mind. When was the last time you took a vacation?"

"I don't need one. I'm just fine the way I am."

"No, I will look into some exotic resort and we'll go for a few days. God knows I need a break from my boss's never ending to do lists."

I don't think I have anymore energy left to start such a debate with her so I proceed with making us some sandwiches and iced coffee, for Alicia this time, not for Ben.

I promised her we'll have a girls day out today, so I am concentrating on this from now on. We have lunch in the backyard but there is no sign of Ben anymore. And it's fine, enough drama for now.

We go shopping because Alicia says that's good for our bodies, like going to the gym. If we shop a lot, we'll put our energy into carrying those bags, thus strengthening our arms, backs and abs. Of course I don't bother mentioning the amount of money we're spending and that it doesn't even compare to a gym subscription.

It's almost dark outside when we decide it's time to put all our bags in the car and go have dinner. Nothing fancy this time, we pull in the parking lot of our favorite diner/ pub where everybody in town drops by. Looks like we're in the mood to socialize as well. We really are a tight community with the good and the bad, but all in all, we feel safe around each other and it's nice to call this place home.

Sandy, the owner, or our "grandma", as we like to call her and she hates it, let's us know that our table is waiting. One we're comfortable and sipping our alcohol free mimosas, we start our usual perusal of the current patrons. We know most of them so we share our latest gossips, if there are any.

I am minding my own business seasoning my chicken salad when the diner doors open and in it enters our beloved chief, mister Solo. My hands stop mid-air, Alicia notices and turns towards the doors to see what caused it. She makes the biggest eyes I've ever seen and licks her bottom lip like she's about to devour something… or someone.

Ben shirtless is a wet dream but Ben in his uniform is something else completely. You can see his badge and his gun clipped to his belt, his shirt is screaming like its about to burst from the amount of muscles Ben is hiding beneath it, and that damn ass is hugged just the right way by his uniform pants.

All the women in the diner are stealing glances his way, just like me and Alicia are doing.

"Girls, snap out of it. I don't think chief Solo would appreciate you undressing him in the middle of my diner."

Sandy refills our empty glasses and goes to say hi to Ben, who's now at the bar talking with one of our high school teachers. He looks so polite, but nobody knows how disrespectful and mean he can be.

"If that's the new chief, I'm about to commit some crime just to feel his hands while he cuffs me."

"My God, Alicia, you are crazy."

"Like you wouldn't like to tap that body?"

About that…

"No, of course not. Who knows how many women he has."

"Since when does that stop a woman from enjoying a piece of art like that?"

"I like monogamous relationships."

"Did I mention anything about relationships?"

I hit her in the head with a piece of bread.

"You're incredible."

"Oh look, he's coming to our table. Goody."

No, no, no. Go away, Ben. Be a good boy and don't make a scene here. But Ben doesn't seem to be connect to my inner voice.

"Good evening, ladies."

"Good evening, chief."

Damn you Alicia and your charm.

"I just wanted to properly introduce myself. I am chief Ben Solo and at your service whenever you need it."

Damn you Ben and your charm.

"Oh, I am Alicia and she is…"

"Rey. I know Rey. We're neighbors. Have a good evening, ladies. And don't forget to lock your doors tonight."

That last line was surely directed at me and he makes me want to not lock my doors ever, just to spite him. Once he is out the door, I know I have some explaining to do.

"Spill it, Rey. How does he know you? And why haven't you mentioned it so far?"


	2. Chapter 2

"There's not much to say. Ben is my neighbor and we just met this morning."

"So it's Ben to you not chief Solo?"

"Shut up, Alicia. Don't read too much into it. I know wheels are spinning in that little head of yours but I can assure you that they're going the wrong way."

"And why am I finding out about this now? You had the whole day to do it."

"I didn't think it was important."

"Right, right."

"Why do I have the feeling that this subject is not closed and we will return to it in the near future?"

"Maybe because you know more than I do. And you're for some reason not willing to share this with your very, very, very good friend."

"Alicia!"

"Eat your dinner, Rey. I can see you're hungry, on the edge. Or is it for a piece of Ben Solo meat?"

"You're crazy."

We revert to our dinner, ignoring the bustle going on in the diner. The rush hours start around this time, so after we finish our food we decide to head home. Before leaving her

car, Alicia, so called good friend that she is, reminds me to lock my doors. My middle finger waves back at her, in a friendly way, of course.

"Stay safe, honey."

I walk down the path taking me to my house, hands balancing all the bags I collected in our mad day. And I can't help but glance at my neighbor's house, the lights are still on. Hmm, maybe I'll wait until they are all off.

What did he say about locked doors? Tonight we're testing if you do the same, chief Solo. And I start fabricating a master plan, you know, to keep my night busy. It's not like I have anything else to do. Nope, none whatsoever.

When the clock hits twelve at midnight, I'm ready. Just like Kevin in home alone, but then a little different. Say my attire for example. Black tights, black shirt with a black hoodie on, black trainers, and yes, I also have a black cap in hand, just to make sure I can cover my head completely, if there will be a need for that. I'm even tempted to put on two black stripes on my face, but that would be taking it a little too far.

You're about to break into the chief's house, Rey, so you've already crossed that invisible line between sanity and madness. My inner voice doesn't agree with my kind of fun.

God, I hope he doesn't have a dog. I mean, I love dogs, but he might not love me when he sees me as an intruder in his house.

Come on, let's do this. I get out the backdoor, that's where I'll start my attack. You can always forget about closing that door and I am doing this to prove him a point.

The side of Ben's backyard is actually nice, the grass freshly cut as I witnessed it too well, his porch is welcoming with a hammock, some chairs and a table. He even has a small fire place, maybe he's bringing out here his dates and woos them all.

Anyway, there's my prize, the door. Here goes nothing. I try the doorknob and would you look at that, it gives away and invites me in the chief's house. Now who am I to say no?

While trying to enter my stealth mode, I quickly figure out that I'm not walking graciously and silently like a ballerina. Just the other way around, my feet look like they are sinking into the floor with the clear task of making it squeak with every step that I take. Damn it, this can blow my cover. I take off my trainers and leave then in the hallway. I need to go upstairs, maybe doing it in socks is better.

It's not… But I keep walking with the sole purpose of finding his room, the room. His house is similar to mine so I am opening the door to the master bedroom, slowly, hoping it doesn't creak. And there bathed in the darkness, lies asleep our chief of police, having no clue that he has an intruder, such a dangerous intruder.

Now he needs to know what he did wrong, it's time to teach him a valuable lesson.

I approach his bed and get closer to his ear to whisper in it.

"Wake up, Ben. I'm here."

No reaction. Maybe he's not a light sleeper. One more time.

"Come on, Ben, wake up for me. I want you… to wake up."

Yeah, that didn't work. I'm not good at booty calls so my sexy voice doesn't have any effect.

Oh well, I'm already here so I might as well snoop around, maybe find out some dirt that I can use against him sometime in the future. Look at me planning ahead, I am proud.

There's a closet near the bed so I open one of its doors and in front me I can see all his uniforms. What if… I couldn't really, but what if… oh the hell with it. I pull one of his button downs from the hanger, black of course. It has the cloth patches with the logo of our home town police. Only if I could find his badge… I start putting on me and can feel a new scent, fresh clothes and some faint woodsy accent. I breathe it in and…

"You have the right to remain silent."

"What the… What are you doing, Ben?"

His button down drops on the floor, because he has my hands behind my back and I am certain those are cuffs being put on them.

"Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

"Come on, you can't be serious?"

"You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you."

"Ben, are you even listening to me?"

I try to break free from his hold, but these damn cuffs have me… well, in chains. How my mind can still be lyrical in moments like this is above my comprehension.

"Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?"

"What the hell have I've been trying to do until now? Remove the cuffs, Ben. This isn't funny."

Silence… What is he doing behind my back?

"That's a negative. Breaking and entering are considered a misdemeanor and are punished by law."

"I was just having a little fun. You know, I DID try to wake you up with no luck."

He leaves me standing in front of his closet, cuffs still on of course. All I can hear are clothes being moved and his voice from different places in the room.

"Having a little fun breaking into my house and stealing my clothes? My official clothes?"

"About that… You see, I was just curious."

He's back, forcing me to move towards the door. He has a hold on one of my arms and guiding me forward.

"Do tell. What were you curios about?"

How do I put this? I can't tell him that I wanted to see how his uniform fitted me and that I loved the scent enticing me to do it.

"If you had more than one uniform."

Not creepy stalkerish at all. That gets me a huff from him.

"You thought I have only one that I wear daily? What type of men have you been involved with so far?"

"Hey! That's rather presumptuous of you."

He ignores me but does take notice of my trainers neatly waiting for me in the hallway.

"You took your shoes off. Planning on making yourself cozy and spend the night?"

"You know what? I'm going to use my right and keep silent. You don't deserve my words."

"You do that."

After a tug of war with my feet, while he tried to put my trainers on, we head to his car. And I do appreciate that we're going in his personal car.

"Where are you taking me?"

He helps me get in the car, in the front seat, thank the Universe. Not like a thief under arrest in the backseat.

"Into the woods, of course. Where nobody can find you after I take advantage of that body of yours and then kill you. The animals will do the trick and erase my traces."

Wait what? He must be joking.

"Shall I take your silence as complete and utter shock?"

I can only nod while refusing to have mental pictures of what he just painted with his words.

"Good. Because that would've been a possibility if you would've broken into some other guy's house you knew nothing about. Keep thinking about that until we get to the station."

"You're taking me to the station?"

I feel like screaming, I've never been arrested, never gotten any tickets, I'm a saint in this department and he wants to ruin it for me.

"Don't worry, it should be deserted at this crazy hour in the night."

"That doesn't make it any better, Ben."

"Neither did you fooling around with my clothes after trying to act like you wanted to wake me up and get in my bed with all that sensual whispering. It's annoying, by the way. To top it all, how do I know that you weren't planning on chocking me with the shirt you were holding?"

"OH MY GOD! You've watched too many CSI's."

"No, Rey, I lived them!"

While I feel bad for the gory scenes he must have witnessed, this is unfortunately the world we live in and what he has to do in his line of work.

He pulls in front of the station and comes to get me out of the car. It's good it's this late, for our town it's late, trust me, because mostly everybody is sleeping by now, so I'm lucky there will be no witnesses to see the chief of police taking me inside the station with cuffs around my hands.

I do remember there's a small cell inside the station, but it's hardly ever used. There's a low crime rate around here.

Ben goes all the way with this charade and locks me in the cell, if you could call it that. He takes off my cuffs before closing the bars door, so at least I can move freely. There's a small bed in the left corner, I hope to God it doesn't have a dirty mattress, else me and the floor we'll be buddy buddies.

I can see Ben is standing near a desk closer to me, looking through some papers, raising one of his eyebrows from time to time. Then he takes a blank form and gets to filling it in.

"Full name?"

No way, he's officially doing this…?

"You know my full name, stop pretending."

"Right. Place and date of birth."

"Well I was born in this town. April 10th, 1992."

We're really doing this. I must stop him, this will not be good for me. I can't have a record.

"Listen, Ben."

I get closer to the bars, closer to him, trying to get his attention. But no chance, his eyes are on the paper.

"I was kidding, OK? You were mocking me in front of my friend about the doors and I wanted to prove a point that you left yours open. OK? That's it, nothing else."

"Mother and father names. And for the record, you should put more effort into waking me up next time. So that I won't find you putting on one of my shirts, like one of those perverts."

I hit one of the bars with my hand and it hurts like a bitch, damn it. This man is driving me crazy.

"I am not a pervert."

"Yet. Mother and father names, Rey. Or would you like me to call your emergency contacts? Maybe one of them is your mother?"

"You wouldn't dare."

"She could come and pick you up, but she'll have to sign for you."

The phone on the desk rings and he has to answer it.

"Yeah, this is him. I understand. I'll be right there. Sure, call him and we'll be there."

"Don't you dare leave me here alone. Give me back my phone at least."

He's standing now and although he's not wearing his uniform, he has a fine body, yes sir. Straight out of my books, like a dark prince to the rescue. He does have his gun and badge, I notice. Why are these making him hotter? And what's up with that hair of his hitting just below his ears and looking like he has an army of stylists taking care of it? This man just woke up and he looks ravishing. But I don't like him, nope, I don't. He arrested me, that's why.

He comes to my cell, (what, it's MY cell now?) and stops, hands crossed over his chest, measuring me up from head to toe, looking somewhat pleased that he locked me up.

"What are you, like thirteen to want your phone? Do you want to play games until I'm back?"

I ignore his challenge.

"You look very satisfied to see me here. Do you have fantasies involving me bound in chains and cuffs, chief? Is that it? Is this the foreplay?"

He laughs, the bastard laughs his heart out. But then he puts both hands on the bars, cornering my silhouette behind them and comes close to my face.

"You're a funny one, really. But you're not my type, not by a long shot. You think you got me all hot and bothered? Think again, until I come back."

He leaves me all hot and bothered by his closeness the second time within the last twenty four hours, this time all cold in a cell. What was I thinking? I let my body slide on the bars until I gently reach the floor, pull up my hood and try to think happy thoughts until he's back.

There's a calming silence in the station for a long time, until I hear a voice in the distance. And it's getting closer and closer. I have my back to the room, so whoever it is, will not

see that it's me.

"Hello? Chief? Are you in here? I tried your house, but you weren't there. Oh my, he's not in here. Do you know when he will be back?"

You must be kidding me… God, did you really have to? Of all the nights when I was being all humble in my house, minding my own business and all, you had to choose this night for the town priest to come looking for Ben.

"Hello there. You don't have to be ashamed, I'm the town priest. Do you have any idea when the chief if is back?"

Trying to change my voice, I answer almost whispering.

"No, he was called on a case."

"Oh, doesn't matter. I will wait for him here if you don't mind."

No, really, you can go. Why me? What did I do wrong? Am I not a good soul? I donate money for charity, I help old ladies when they don't bicker about some stupid topic. That's it isn't it? I don't listen to the elders of the town. I knew I was doing something wrong… Well besides my toy collection in the bedside drawer in my room, but that's another story for another time.

The priest is silent, most probably praying for my lost soul, which I know start to appreciate.

Talking about the town's elders, one of them enters the office like it's her home and gets very excited to see the priest here.

"Father, oh good, I've been looking for you. Jenna down the road, you know her, she thinks she needs to confess, she's very sick. I searched for you at the church but it was locked, then I saw light in here and thought the chief could help me find you."

Yeah, Ben is good at helping everybody. Except me.

"Misses Jackson, I'm sorry to hear about Jenna. I was waiting for the chief also, if you don't mind. Some kids broke one of our windows and I wanted to talk with their parents but with the chief to join me. You never know this days when the Devil takes over and the people become angrier than ever."

"I'll wait with you if that is OK. Oh, Rey, I didn't see you when I got in, deary. What in God's name are you doing in there?"

How the hell does she know it's me? She approaches the cell, the priest with her. I can't deny anything now. That's it, all the town will find out. I know Miss Jackson, she'll spread the news faster than I can deny them. Just my luck, one of the town's biggest feeder of the rumor's mill gets to see me locked in a cell. I turn around, trying my hardest to shed some tears and play the damsel in distress, but don't get a chance to say any word.

"Really, Rey? You called the priest? Out of all the people in this town."

Ben Almighty is back, of course.

'How exactly do you think I could call him if I have no phone, smart ass? Excuse me, father. Sometimes my mouth has a mind of its own."

"It's OK, chief."

Though him and Miss Jackson look extremely confused about the scene in front of them.

"I'm sorry to meddle, chief, but why do you have Rey in a cell?"

Yeah, I'm sure she's sorry. Old lady, bad habits. I wonder what God thinks about that?

"That's police business, Miss Jackson, I cannot give that away. But I have to ask, what are you and the priest doing here?"

And they go in the other room to discuss their matters, completely forgetting about me. I have no idea how long they do this, so I resume my place on the floor, getting somehow

comfortable in the warmth of my hoodie.

I must have dosed off at some point as there is a hand lightly touching me and trying to wake up me.

"Rey, baby, wake up. I came to take you home."

"Mom? What are you doing here?"

"Miss Jackson called and told me you're lying on the cell in the police station. What happened? What did you do?"

Of course Miss Jackson had to go ahead and call my mother, why not. Why not call the entire town to witness my first arrest ever.

"It was a misunderstanding, Misses Star."

What was I saying? Ben to the rescue again.

"Oh, chief, what can we do to get her out of here?"

"Don't worry about a thing, Miss Star. I need to have a private conversation with your daughter and then you can take her home. You can wait out front, if that's OK?"

"Sure, whatever you say, chief."

And he charmed my mother as well. What is wrong with this town?

Once we're alone, he comes closer, but not like last time and proceeds to teach me a lesson, I think.

"I'm not sorry for this, you know."

"Oh really? Why would you? The whole town will know about it until morning, but they will wonder what I did. That will be a treat to watch and listen."

"Next time think about what you're doing and the consequences."

"Stop acting like you're my father. I don't need you to teach me some lesson about any action has a reaction and so on."

He comes near me and unlocks the cell, but avoiding my eyes.

"That was not the idea, Rey. It's the second time I'm warning you about dangerous men and you act like you want to get kidnapped and abused. I can promise you that that is not fun or good in any way."

"Why are you so keen on making me aware of this? Did it happen to you in the past or something?"

No answer, so I hit a soft spot. I know when to treat lightly in cases like this so I keep quiet about the topic.

"Have yourself a restful evening or what's left of it."

"Aren't you coming back?"

"No, got some paperwork to catch up."

I leave the room as fast as I can, I cannot feel sorry for him after what he just pulled. Nope, I just need to prepare for my next move. And face the freak show of what will happen in


End file.
